Ellen DeGeneres on Her Variety Special, Prop 8 and Closeted Celebrities
Photo courtesy: TBS
As if she weren’t busy enough with her daily talk show, new marriage, philanthropic endeavors, American Express ads and her new Cover Girl campaign, Ellen DeGeneres is adding at least one more project to her full plate. Ellen’s Even Bigger Really Big Show, returns for another edition and airs on TBS on Nov. 29 as part of the network’s Comedy Festival at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.
Ellen took time out from rehearsals to talk to the press about the variety special, her feelings about Proposition 8 and how she’d like to literally pick a kid from a Gap ad.
This being the second consecutive year that Ellen has headlined the TBS special, she was asked what’s different about the latest edition. With her usual quick wit she offered, “Well, the title says it’s even bigger so I think that says it all. Last year’s was really, really big and this year is even bigger.”
“I think it’s going to be the same kind of excitement, the same kind of acts that you have never seen before. We’ve brought people in from all over the world that are fascinating to watch. I think mostly you’re going to just sit there and wonder how did [the performers] even think up this idea [and] that it would be a possibility as a talent.”
Since she’ll soon be spending time in
“There are a lot of new comedians that I haven’t seen,” she said, “and I hope I get time to go see some of them. I think I’m going to be rehearsing and working and busy the whole time but I hope I get to see some of them because I really haven’t seen any of the newer comedians because I’m always busy.”
Ellen also touched on the fact that while she loves the largeness of a big stage in a new arena, she does not have a desire to return to touring with her stand-up act.
“I don’t miss traveling and sleeping in a hotel every night. That touring got really old and I did it for 15 years. I had no idea I was going to be a talk show host but I used to tell the audience at the end of the show when I’d do question and answer [that] I’m going to make you come to me and I’m not going to come to you anymore and now they do come to me. I do standup every single day. I still get that live energy exchange between the audience and myself. I still get to say the things I want to say and comment on and so [but] I guess I’m going to get that at Caesars. It’s 4,000 people. It’s a big stage. It’s a brand new energy. I’ll probably be … not so much nervous but excited just because it’s a different place.”
With massive ebbs and flows in last week’s political
developments, Ellen also spoke about how she felt when Barack Obama won the
Presidency and then things took a downward turn the next day when Proposition 8
failed to be defeated in the state of
“The next day was what a lot of people felt, which was energized that Obama got in and excited for that and then…the next day seeing that there was a big loud voice saying you are not equal to us and that feels bad. That feels really, really bad ... you are different and you’re not equal. It feels very bad. It took a little bit of air out of me from the excitement from the night before.”
But that the feeling of defeat didn’t last very long. “I do feel hopeful. I feel excited and I’m not tired or anything. But certainly that was an emotional day for me the next day and trying to do a show when I felt that sad inside but I kind of bounced back. I feel good now.”
One recent commentary on Proposition 8 that she couldn’t help but mention came from a certain MSNBC personality whose video has been widely seen on the Internet this week. “I thought Keith Olbermann was so brilliant and eloquent,” she said. "[The video] is on our website and I‘m sure you can find it just about anywhere but I just thought what he said is all that needs to be said. It really is just about following your heart and people really paying attention to what the right thing is."
“I think this Saturday there’s a nationwide March…and hopefully it will be done peacefully and in the right way.”
Olbermann’s commentary mentioned that the way gays are being treated is not very far removed from another group that was long held down and kept civil rights at bay.
“It just isn’t fair and if you look back as you watch Keith Olbermann what he talks about is this happened to Black people," Ellen added. "They weren’t allowed to marry. They’re still holding on to some form of this. I have faith that people will realize that this is wrong.”
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